Winter Is Here

One of the benefits of the new house is having a full fireplace in the living room. Kate and Ethan.

Isabelle, Kate, Natalie and Ethan could not wait to get their snow gear and head outside.

Tr-Cities Fever Football Game

TRI-CITIES FEVER - ARENA FOOTBALL GAME

If you haven't ever been to an indoor arena football game, it is super fun! Some consider it the minor leagues of the NFL, others consider it a different kind of sport like Canadian Football, but I (Clark) think it is fantastic!!

This Memorial Day weekend we are visiting the Laura's family in Kennewick, WA. Along with Richland and Pasco, it makes up the Tri-Cities.

The Tri-Cities Fever beat the Fairbanks Grizzlies 50-21. This was my first indoor arena game and some of the most notable differences: padded walls, hockey checks over the walls, multiple players in motion, only 8 players, 25yd line is mid-field, unsportsmanlike conduct not called for dancing to the surround sound music...

During the game, I noticed a player (new to the team) last name Mulitalo. His name is Cyrus, cousin to some family friends we had in Maryland. It was fun to talk with him after the game, he just signed with the Tri-Cities Fever and this was his first game. He did a fantastic job on defense and took home Defensive Player of the Game.

I wish I had a picture of this, but at half time they had a fund raiser for a local dance team. For $5 you could throw 6 baseball size soft golf balls at empty garbage cans on the middle of the field. If your marked ball went in the can you could win a 19 inch LCD TV. There was a barrage of golf balls from around the arena and my last ball hit its mark and went in the garbage can. Our section went wild! I was a little disappointed that 5 other people (out of a few hundred balls) also hit the garbage can and they only picked one of the balls - and it was not mine. Oh well! It was super fun, high scoring and our team won...can't wait to do it again.

Vegas Baby!

Clark had to go to Las Vegas for a few days so Brad & Destenee and Marshall & Stephanie agreed to watch our kids so I could go with Clark. We had so much fun!!! We stayed at the Belagio and watched the fountain show from our room. While Clark was in meetings I explored Vegas, took naps and lounged by the pool. One evening we went to a Cirque du Soliel show called Ka, it was awesome!! We ate at In & Out Burger and had frozen hot chocolate at Serendipity.

Summer Trips

We've made some fun trips this summer. We've visited my parents quite a few times, while there we've been to the water park, met our new niece and cousin, gone boating on the river and seen lots of family. In fact, this summer the kids have seen every aunt, uncle, cousin and grandparent they have.
In July we went to Utah for a Hartley family reunion. We had fun visiting with everyone and the kids had a blast playing with their cousins. While in Utah we got to see our good friends from Maryland, the Clausers. It was so good to see them, we really miss them! We celebrated Isabelle's 7th birthday while in Utah and went to Leatherby's for ice cream to celebrate.
We got to visit with my brother David and his wife Sarah and their cute little girl and Aunt Cherie while in Utah. It was fun to see them as they are now all on the west coast.
We had the opportunity to go to the Oquirrh Mountain temple open house and we visited BYU campus and of course the BYU bookstore.

Finally, an update

Okay, I know it's been a while since we've updated our blog, but we've been busy having a fun summer. Here are a few of the things we've been up to.

We've had lots of fun exploring Seattle. We been to the fish market quite a few times, we've been to the Seattle Aquarium and the Woodland Park Zoo a few times, we've spent a lot of time on Vashon Island where we love to play on the beach. We have been to a few Mariners games, the last one we went to the girls got to run the bases which was pretty cool.
For our 9th anniversary Clark and I went to the Space Needle and had dinner at the restaurant at the top of the Space Needle.
We've been to the sculpture park and the gum wall (the gum wall is a building near Pike Street Market where people have stuck their gum over the years. The wall is covered in gum....gross! The kids love it though).

Ya...it's May! Sorry! Blame FACEBOOK.

Mothers Day - Laura was pampered on Mothers Day. Highlights included a 2 hour nap, dinner and a movie (Sleepless in Seattle). The girls each gave her a gift and a card. Laura got some "bling" from Isabelle, a potted flower from Kate and a chocolate bar from Natalie. Ethan and Clark gave her a new set of scripures (with her married name).

Picnic - We live by a very cool park. There are trails, kids play areas and a lake. We took Grandama & Grandpa Jones and Hartley for a picnic. The wind was a little cold (in the shade) but the weather was otherwise beautiful. The girls loved watching people fish.

Baby Blessing Sunday - The Hartley's and Jones's made the trek to Seattle for Ethans baby blessing. He was a very happy and cooperative boy the whole time. Wearing his white tux, Ethan was quite the ladies man! (Don't ask about the bonet Clark confiscated and threw away never to be spoken of again!)

Sorry for the delay in updates...we have been enjoying Facebook.

Clark, Laura + Kids

He's Here!!!

Ethan Grant Hartley was born on Feb. 9, 2009!!! He weighed 8lbs 14oz and was 20 inches long. He is a very sweet and mellow baby, the only time he really cries is when he is getting his diaper changed. His sisters adore him and are constantly showering him with hugs and kisses.

We're a little late getting the news out because his birth was followed with some complications for me which resulted in an extra week in the hospital. But we're all home and healthy now and we're excited to have Ethan in our family!